Northeastern celebrates after defeating Archbishop Carroll in double overtime in a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. After trailing by as much as 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats rallied to win the game 86-84. (Photo: Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com)Buy Photo

Eventually, they led Northeastern to its most remarkable victory in what has already been an historic season. Northeastern pulled out an 86-84 victory in double-overtime over Archbishop Carroll in a PIAA Class 5A boys’ basketball quarterfinal Saturday at Garden Spot High School.

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Northeastern celebrates after defeating Archbishop Carroll in double overtime in a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. After trailing by as much as 15 points in the fourth quarter, the Bobcats rallied to win the game 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Austin Greene shoots a layup in front of Archbishop Carroll's A.J. Hoggard in a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats won in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Fred Mulbah (11) drives through Archbishop Carroll defenders during a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats won in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Fred Mulbah (11) scores on a layup during play against Archbishop Carroll in a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. Mulbah finished with 19 points as the Bobcats won in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

The Northeastern bench cheers after the Bobcats score against Archbishop Carroll during a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats rallied to win in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Austin Greene (3) looks to shoot the ball during play against Archbishop Carroll during a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats pulled off a win in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Fred Mulbah (11) drives down the court between Archbishop Carroll defenders during a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats rallied to win in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern head coach Jon Eyster directs his players during a fourth quarter rally by the Bobcats against Archbishop Carroll on Saturday. The Bobcats came back from a 15 point deficit in the fourth quarter to win the game in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Fred Mulbah and Archbishop Carroll's A.J. Hoggard dive for the ball during during a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats won in double overtime 86-84.
Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Brandon Coleman (1) shoots a layup against Archbishop Carroll's Jesse McPherson during a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats pulled off a win in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Austin Richards (14) jumps up in excitement as the Bobcats score late in the fourth quarter against Archbishop Carroll on Saturday. The Bobcats rallied in the fourth from 15 points down to win in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Fred Mulbah (11) shoots a layup during play against Archbishop Carroll in a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats won in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern's Antonio Rizzuto (5) dives and saves a ball from going out of bounds during play against Archbishop Carroll during a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats pulled of a 86-84 win in double overtime. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern head coach Jon Eyster reacts during a fourth quarter rally by the Bobcats against Archbishop Carroll on Saturday. The Bobcats came back from a 15 point deficit in the fourth quarter to win the game in double overtime 86-84. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern fans cheer during a fourth quarter rally by the Bobcats against Archbishop Carroll in a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. Northeastern won in double overtime 86-84.
Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

The Northeastern bench cheers after Brandon Coleman dunks the ball during the second overtime period against Archbishop Carroll on Saturday. The Bobcats won 86-84 in double overtime. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern fans wait to celebrate with the Bobcats after their 86-84 double overtime win against Archbishop Carroll in a quarterfinal PIAA basketball game in New Holland, Pa., on Saturday. The Bobcats will play in a semi-final matchup Monday. Dan Rainville, GameTimePA.com

Northeastern needed its best fourth quarter of the season, and maybe the best fourth quarter in program history, to overcome a 15-point deficit. The crazy part is Northeastern didn’t even need a full eight minutes to erase Archbishop Carroll’s lead.

The Bobcats overcame the big deficit and long odds of winning with two dynamic spurts. They started the quarter with a 10-4 run, keyed by a pair of 3-pointers by freshman Nate Wilson.

“(Coleman) got a layup and then the next timeout I said, ‘He’s not going to guard you, you’re knocking it down. And then you’re going to knock down some more.’”

With the deficit still teetering between single and double digits, Coleman took over.

“Between him saying that and my teammates saying, ‘Let it fly,’ that gave me the confidence,” Coleman said. “Our motto’s been all year, ‘We can’t stop fighting.’ ”

Coleman hit a layup, a rainbow 3-pointer, a rainbow 3-pointer and another layup. The senior, who grew 3 inches between his junior and senior years, sparked a 13-2 run.

When Greene knocked down a shot with 1:04 left in regulation, the game was tied.

“When you’re down 15 going to the fourth quarter, it doesn’t take a nuclear scientist to figure out you’ve got to put some pressure on,” Eyster said. “And (Archbishop Carroll) didn’t handle it.”

Northeastern trailed again, this time by two points with five seconds left in regulation, but Archbishop Carroll made the biggest mistake of the game. Attempting to inbound the ball, Archbishop Carroll committed an offensive, dead-ball foul when A.J. Hoggard bowled over Rizzuto.

Now with the ball under its own basket, Northeastern gave the ball to Mulbah, who drove from the arc, bounced off a defender and sank a layup to beat the buzzer.

“I didn’t know it was going to happen like that, I was just going with the game,” Mulbah said.

Northeastern allowed Archbishop Carroll to score just four points in the final 5:02 of regulation, and countered with 15 points.

In the first overtime, the lead changed five times. Mulbah had a breakaway layup in the final seconds, but the basket was waved off since it came a second too late. In double overtime, Coleman – of course it was Coleman – drove the lane with 2:50 to play to give Northeastern the lead for good. He added a dunk 25 seconds later.

Mulbah scored 19 points, and Rizzuto added 16.

Coleman finished the game by sinking his final nine shots, and he did not miss after the third quarter to score a game-high 31 points. Greene added 12 points.

Juniors Mulbah and Rizzuto receive most the attention from college coaches, including St. Joseph’s Phil Martelli, talking to the players after the game. The Northeastern players, however, point to two guys who didn’t start to shine until their final seasons as the main cogs. Coleman and Greene: They’re the heart and soul of the Bobcats.

“No. 1, they bring heart,” Rizzuto said. “They’re our leaders.”

Archbishop Carroll had yet another chance to extend the game in the final seconds of double overtime, but Carroll’s Hoggard rattled a jumper from near the free-throw line off the rim. Long-ball specialist Colin Daly scored a team-high 19 points with Hoggard adding 16 and Justin Anderson scoring 16.

“We just beat a really, really, really good team: One of the best teams in the state,” Greene said.

“We’ve all been playing together since sixth or seventh grade, we just have a chemistry that not a lot of people have. I look at it like they’re my brothers. I have three real brothers, and now I have 12 more brothers and I love them to death – like they’re my blood.”